Diamond-like gems produced from material other than carbon have found a significant commercial market. Some of these materials such as cubic zirconia, have optical properties sufficiently similar to natural diamonds that experienced jewelers have difficulty in distinguishing the gem from natural diamond without removing the gem from its mounting to measure hardness and/or density, or, with the gem in its mounting, making relatively complex x-ray tests that sometimes take several hours to perform. Furthermore, the hardness test requires scratching or otherwise marring the gem and this is destructive. It is most commonly performed by removing the gem from its mount and scratching the bottom. For example, crystalline cubic zirconia can be cut and facetted so that it has the appearance of a natural diamond and when inspected optically even an experienced jeweler cannot easily distinguish it from natural diamond; and so, without removing the gem from its mounting and/or making complex x-ray tests, the jeweler cannot tell within a few minutes time whether the cubic zirconia gem is or is not a natural diamond. This situation can be used by unscrupulous persons who would attempt to pass off an imitation diamond gem, such as a cubic zirconia gem, as a natural diamond.
The x-ray tests mentioned above involves making x-ray pictures of the gem. From these x-ray pictures, some experienced jewelers can distinguish whether the gem is or is not a natural diamond. While this technique is well known and quite reliable, it does take considerable time and skill to perform and most jewelers are not equipped with the x-ray equipment required for the test. It is the principle object of the present invention to provide a method and means of testing such diamond-like gems or imitation diamond gems by which the gem can be distinguished from natural diamond without removing the gem from its mount and in a relatively shorter period of time than by the techniques used heretofor.